16 Azar Student Uprising and Protests are an Iranian tradition since 1953. For almost 54 years, Iranian students have been commemorating, protesting and celebrating 16 Azar as a day to promote democracy against dictatorship. Promoting democracy is not promoting Jebhe Melli (National Front) or Hezbe Tudeh (Communist Tudeh Party). Those students who died on 1953 by the hands of Shah's dictatorial regime were freedom lovers. Before they were (so called) members of Jebhe Melli and Hezbe Tudeh, they were human beings who loved freedom and democracy. These three students may or may not been members or sympathizers of Jebhe Melli and Hezbe Tudeh but fact of the matter is that all three of them were pro democracy forces and they were murdered by Shah's regime. Since that day in 1953, every 16 Azar, students have been protesting and they have gotten injured or have died by the hands of Shah's or Mullahs' regime.

Unfortunately till this day, Monarchists can't accept that Shah's regime was a dictatorship and he was a dictator. A free human being can't live in a dictatorship. A free human being wants to live in a democracy. Students are intellectuals. The Intellectuals can't live and they refuse to live in a dictatorship. This was the reason behind 16 Azar student uprising.

Monarchists brand any voice of freedom as Tudehi and Jebhei. I think we can recall the narrow-minded and idiotic remarks of Anjoman Padeshahi (Azade, Kian, Liberator, other closed minded Thugs) in this club! When someone doesn't know history, that someone makes illiterate remarks and brands IPC members as Tudehi or Muslim. Read IPC Club and you can experience first hand on Imbecile fascists from Anjoman Padeshahi calling us a bunch of Commie-Mojaheds?

I don't blame these illiterate people (Azade, Kian, Liberator, other closed minded Thugs) for being illiterate, but I blame their Fascist leaders (Foroud Fouladvand) where they get their information from! Fouladvands of the Iranian society keep these kids illiterate by not teaching them true history of Iran.

There is no denying that Shah has done some good for Iran but anyway you cut it, his regime was a dictatorship, which suppressed human rights, freedoms and democracy. Islamic Republic is also a dictatorship. Inside closet and outside closet Monarchists can justify Shah's actions till next century but fact of the matter can't change. History can't change. A Dictatorship is a dictatorship and people who fight for democracy can't be branded by Monarchist Diaper Babies (Azade, Kian, Liberator, other closed minded Thugs), as Commie-Mojaheds! Monarchist Juveniles need to get a grip on reality.

At the present, Monarchists want to confuse the history. Hamrazm Shafigh was a Monarchist and I have great respect for him. I have great respect for Monarchist Hamrazman of Resistance. Hamrazm Aryamanesh was also a Monarchist on surface but in reality he was a closet Nationalist. But I don't let my respect for Monarchist Hamrazman blinds me to the historical facts. The events of 16 Azar 1332 (1953) has nothing to do with Assassination of Hamrazm Shahriar Shafigh on 16 Azar 1981. Monarchists are trying to hijack over half a century of student uprising and fight for freedom and democracy in to one day of assassination of a Monarchist on 1981. This is called "Twisting The History"!

They talk about The Real Version of 16 Azar (Monarchist Version) which is assassination of Hamrazm Shafigh verses the Tudehi Version and Republican version (Fake Version) which is killing of 3 students by Regime of Shah! Monarchists are re-writing history!

There is only one version and one version only. That's Iranian historical version of 16 Azar celebrated by students for over 50 years and I promise you it has nothing to do with Hamrazm Shafigh's assassination!

The more Monarchists try to re-write history, the more they will be isolated and mocked by forces of democracy. Shutting voices of intelligence such as IPC in Monarchist Diaper Baby chatrooms (Activist Chat) but allowing illiterate Monarchist Diaper Babies to freely preach false and revised history will not fool anyone. It will only reminds everyone that monarchists are still the same old monarchists. Pre 1979 they were silencing the intellectuals and pro democracy forces in Iran and today, post 1979, they are silencing people's voice and the intellectuals' voice in their Juvenile Chatrooms (Activist Chat). Same old Monarchists! Fascist Tribunes/forums/press with Censorship as their agenda have fallen pre 1979 and post 1979 because they don't have the support of the people.

Branding forces of democracy as Commie-Mojaheds does not help their cause and it can't fool anyone. Trash Talk of juvenile Monarchists in their Juvenile Chatroom (Activist Chat) can't change history and for sure it doesn't make me a Commie-Mojahed. But I promise you it destroys "All Monarchists" good reputation including true Hamrazman. Ajoman Padeshahi must stop ruining the good reputation of good Nationalist Constitutionalist Monarchists. Historical lies can and will damage every Monarchist's reputation. Anjoman Padeshahi TV is where Fouladvand, an ignorant illiterate man screams his propaganda and shuts everyone else's voice! This is what Monarchists are all about. This is how Monarchists practiced before 1979 and today.

This is an article about protests on 16 Azar 1953 to 2002. These protests commemorate the student uprising of 1953. Students have commemorated this day for over decades. This is a biased article because it is written by Jebhe Melli but it's good to read because it gives you one view (their view). This article is by Jebhe Melli Sweden:

http://www.jebhemelli.net/htdocs/statements/2002/12_December/student_day_16_azar.htm

This next one is about the historical events of 16 Azar 1953 which has nothing to do with Assassination of Hamrazm Shafigh on 16 Azar 1981. This article is not biased and for Jebhe Melli because Sam Ghandchi is not a Jebhei.

Sam Ghandchi writes:

Quote:
"My cousin, Ahmad Ghandchi, who was sympathetic to Jebhe Melli, and two others, Shariat-Razavi and Bozorg-Nia, who were claimed by hezbe tudeh as sympathetic to Hezb-e Tudeh, were killed by the gun of Shah's police, on this 7th day of December in 1953, at the University of Tehran, when they had gone on strike, protesting Nixon's visit of Iran, following the CIA coup of 1953."

Writting this article doesn't make Sam Ghandchi a Jebhei or a Tudehi and for sure not a Commie-Mojahed! Juvenile Illiterate Monarchists born and living in Exile need to grow up and read some history.

Experts from this article:

Iranian Students - Tale of Two Regimes

Sam Ghandchi writes:

Quote:
2. About Dec 7, 1953 (16-Azar 1332)

16-Azar (Dec 7) is from the days right after the CIA coup of 1953. Despite the attempts by monarchists in the recent years to remove anniversary celebrations of Dec 7th from the calendar of Iran's pro-democracy movement, Iranian students celebrate both days, because Dec 7 (16-Azar) reminds us that we do not want to trade one retrogressive regime with another.

Iranian students have been struggling for democracy for over half a century, commemorating two days shows this challenge under two dictatorial regimes. It should not be surprising why Iranian students make a point to keep both days because they want to emphasize that they will not be return to the old regime as the monarchists try to take advantage of IRI atrocities to come back to power in Iran. Below is my memories of 16-Azar (Dec 7) at the time of the Shah.

The anniversary of Dec 7, 1953, is from another generation of Iranian students who fought for democracy under the Shah's regime. The anniversary of 16-Azar of 1332, rooz-e dAneshjoo, the International Students Day. Many people who have been members of the Confederation of Iranian Students abroad in 60s and 70s, or have been students in Iran in those years, would remember the commemorations in Iran and abroad, on this special day, and still after the 1979 Revolution, the Iranian students in Iran celebrate the anniversary of this day.

When I was a student in late 60s and early 70s, I remember celebrations of this day, and it was a day that students remembered their freedom-loving peers, who were the first to oppose Shah's dictatorship of post-CIA coup of 1953, and who had given their blood to show their dislike of Shah's repression, just a few months after that dark CIA coup in Iran.

My cousin, Ahmad Ghandchi, who was sympathetic to Jebhe Melli, and two others, Shariat-Razavi and Bozorg-Nia, who were claimed by hezbe tudeh as sympathetic to Hezb-e Tudeh, were killed by the gun of Shah's police, on this 7th day of December in 1953, at the University of Tehran, when they had gone on strike, protesting Nixon's visit of Iran, following the CIA coup of 1953.

As far as calling the three students as jebhe or tudeii, this is how anybody was categorized in 1953, as either jebhe or tudeii, but they were just freedom-loving students of Technology Faculty (Daneshkadeh Fani) of University of Tehran, who were protesting the coup that had overthrown legal popular reformist government of Dr. Mossadegh.

The blood stain of the three students on the columns of the main building of Daneshkadeh Fani was still there a few years ago. I do not know if it is still there now. For years during the Shah's regime, following the bloody shooting of the Shah's regime on 16-Azar, the students of Daneshkadeh Fani, were the bastions of Iranian students movement for democracy.

Outside Iran, the main newspaper of the Confederation of Iranian students in 60s and 70s was called 16-Azar, and the day 16-Azar was always celebrated by Iranian students, who studied in universities abroad. I think all the archives of Confederation's 16-Azar paper may be found at the US Library of Congress in the Iran section.

Ahmad Ghandchi, Shariat-e Razavi, and Bozorg-nia are buried in emAm-zAdeh AbdollAh near Tehran. I was two years old when they were killed, so I just know about them from family conversations. When I was a child, I used to go to their graveside with my father, as it is also near my grandfather's grave.

My zan-amoo (my cousin's mother), who passed away just about fifteen years ago, always would cry every time remembering her son Ahmad. Ahmad was one of the brightest in the family. Ahmad Ghandchi got his diploma when he was 16 and was very knowledgeable. His story of being killed, for fighting against the dictatorship, is unfortunately the story of the life and death of many of the brightest children of Iran over the years.

The students' protest in 16th of Azar, was not only to protest the post-Coup repression and US involvement in Iran, but Shariat-Razavi, Ghandchi, and Bozorg-nia and their peers, thought that they can break that atmosphere of fear and intimidation (rob va vahshat), and perhaps they had a chance. But unfortunately they were defeated and the post-coup terror continued for decades.

The US policy was the main reason for the success of coup, and for failure of democracy in Iran in those years. I have condemned IRI hostage-taking, from day one, which happened in the aftermath of 1979 Revolution, nonetheless, I have also condemned U.S. role in Iran, during the Shah's regime, from CIA coup of 1953, to training of the Savak, to supporting the repressive Shah's government in the post-coup years.

The July 9th Uprising of Iranian students in 1999, reminded me of the 16-Azar of 1953. Again the Iranian students took the flag of asking for freedom and democracy in Iran and a few were killed and a number of them are still in jail.

After years and years of struggle for democracy in Iran, and even after going through a revolution, again the democratic law and human rights were defeated in Iran and again the Iranian students are in the forefront of pro-democracy movement, to protest the repression and to ask for democracy, and again they are paying with their blood for this great ideal of humanity.

3. Conclusion

What is notable today is that there is a strong movement of pre-university youth in Iran, that ever since the years of 1941-1953 such a pre-university youth movement was never this strong. In post-1953, only the otoboosrAni movement of 1969 ( a movement protesting the price of bus tickets in 1969), was a notable movement with pre-University youth. Other than that, during the 1953-1979 period, there was hardly any pre-university youth movement in Iran. In recent years, the youth movement has shown its powerful presence on occasions such as the periodic matched of soccer games in Iran.

I think the presence of a strong youth movement in the years after the fall of Reza Shah and following World War II, was because on one side there was a half-democracy in Iran, in those years, and on the other side, the atmosphere in the world, was very international and the youth in different countries compared themselves with their counterparts in other countries, and were demanding what their peers had.

Internet and Television have created a similar situation for the youth today, where Iranian youth compare themselves to their peers elsewhere in the world, and the movement of the youth in Iran is an added element to the movement of Iranian university students and it is hard to say how these two movements will complement each other in their struggle for democracy and progress.

Even the teachers movement is in close relation with the students, raising the flag of pro-democracy movement. Nonetheless, these are tough times, especially for the ones who are facing the vigilantes on the streets of Iran and are facing torture in the Evin prison. I believe any help for the progressive students movement in Iran has never been as timely as now.

The cornerstone of the current movement in Iran is the separation of state and religion and the demand for full secularism, which can only happen by ending the Islamic Republic of Iran for good, and the regime tries its best to suppress the secular forces.

One of the leaders of Iranian pro-democracy movement, during the prolonged students demonstrations of 2002, noted an important thought. He said that students movement have their own limitations, although students movement has always been a spectacular part of pro-democracy movement of Iran. To lead the movement of Iran for regime change, a political party is needed, and although students movement and its leadership, are important parts of such an endeavor, but they are not equal. I have written my thoughts on the Futurist Party in a different paper, and have separately discussed it in relation to political coalitions as well.

Long live the pro-democracy movement of Iranian students

Hoping for a Futurist, Federal, Democratic, and Secular Republic in Iran,

Sam Ghandchi, Editor/Publisher

RELATED SLIDESHOW

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My Conclusion

When Juvenile Diaper Baby Monarchists twist and re-write history, it doesn't only damage their reputation as "Sane human beings" but it also damages the good reputation of great Monarchist Hamrazman (Shafigh, others) who passed away and ones who are alive.

I have tried to shed some light on this subject. Thank you for reading my take on the issue.

Regards,
Catayoun Razmjou